1 . Plastic-Eating Worms

Humans produce more than 300 million tons of plastic every year. Almost half of that winds up in landfills(垃圾填埋场), and up to 12 million tons pollute the oceans. So far there is no effective way to get rid of it, but a new study suggests an answer may lie in the stomachs of some hungry worms.

Researchers in Spain and England recently found that the worms of the greater wax moth can break down polyethylene, which accounts for 40% of plastics. The team left 100 wax worms on a commercial polyethylene shopping bag for 12 hours, and the worms consumed and broke down about 92 milligrams, or almost 3% of it. To confirm that the worms’ chewing alone was not responsible for the polyethylene breakdown, the researchers made some worms into paste(糊状物) and applied it to plastic films. 14 hours later the films had lost 13% of their mass — apparently broken down by enzymes (酶) from the worms’ stomachs. Their findings were published in Current Biology in 2017.

Federica Bertocchini, co-author of the study, says the worms’ ability to break down their everyday food — beeswax — also allows them to break down plastic. ＂Wax is a complex mixture, but the basic bond in polyethylene, the carbon-carbon bond, is there as well, ＂she explains, ＂The wax worm evolved a method or system to break this bond. ＂

Jennifer DeBruyn, a microbiologist at the University of Tennessee, who was not involved in the study, says it is not surprising that such worms can break down polyethylene. But compared with previous studies, she finds the speed of breaking down in this one exciting. The next step, DeBruyn says, will be to identify the cause of the breakdown. Is it an enzyme produced by the worm itself or by its gut microbes(肠道微生物)?

Bertocchini agrees and hopes her team’s findings might one day help employ the enzyme to break down plastics in landfills. But she expects using the chemical in some kind of industrial process — not simply ＂millions of worms thrown on top of the plastic.＂

1. What can we learn about the worms in the study?

A．They take plastics as their everyday food.

B．They are newly evolved creatures.

C．They can consume plastics.

D．They wind up in landfills.

2. According to Jennifer DeBruyn, the next step of the study is to            .

A．identify other means of the breakdown

B．find out the source of the enzyme

C．confirm the research findings

D．increase the breakdown speed

3. It can be inferred from the last paragraph that the chemical might            .

A．help to raise worms

B．help make plastic bags

C．be used to clean the oceans

D．be produced in factories in future

4. What is the main purpose of the passage?

A．To explain a study method on worms.

B．To introduce the diet of a special worm.

C．To present a way to break down plastics.

D．To propose new means to keep eco-balance.

2 . Lots of people find it hard to get up in the morning and put the blame on the alarm clock. In fact, the key to easy morning wake-up lies in resting your body clock     1    . Here is how to make one.

•     2     In order to make a change, you need to decide why it’s important. Do you want to get up in time to have breakfast with your family, get in some exercise or just be better prepared for your day? Once you are clear about your reason, tell your family or roommates about the change you want to make.

• Rethink mornings. Now that you know why you want to wake up, consider re-arranging your morning activities. If you want time to have breakfast with your family, save some time the night before by setting out clothes, shoes, and bags.     3     That’s a quarter-hour more you could be sleeping if you bought a coffee maker with a timer.

• Keep your sleep/wake schedule on weekends. If you’re tired out by Friday night, sleeping in on Saturday could sound wonderful. But compensating (弥补) on the weekends actually feeds into your sleepiness the following week, a recent study found.     4    .

• Keep a record and evaluate it weekly. Keep track of your efforts and write down how you feel. After you’ve tried a new method for a week, take a look at your record.     5     If not, take another look at other methods you could try.

A．Get a sleep specialist.

B．Find the right motivation.

C．A better plan for sleep can help.

D．And consider setting a second alarm.

E．If the steps you take are working, keep it up.

F．Stick to your set bedtime and wake-up time, no matter the day.

G．Reconsider the 15 minutes you spend in line at the cafe to get coffee.

3 . The dancer’s incredible performance had the audience on its feet ______ for 10 minutes at the end of the show.

A．being clapped

B．clap

C．clapped

D．clapping

4 . Steven Stein likes to follow garbage trucks. His strange habit makes sense when you consider that he’s an environmental scientist who studies how to reduce litter, including things that fall off garbage trucks as they drive down the road. What is even more interesting is that one of Stein’s jobs is defending an industry behind the plastic shopping bags.

Americans use more than 100 billion thin film plastic bags every year. So many end up in tree branches or along highways that a growing number of cities do not allow them at checkouts(收银台). The bags are prohibited in some 90 cities in California, including Los Angeles. Eyeing these headwinds, plastic-bag makers are hiring scientists like Stein to make the case that their products are not as bad for the planet as most people assume.

Among the bag makers’ argument: many cities with bans still allow shoppers to purchase paper bags, which are easily recycled but require more energy to produce and transport. And while plastic bags may be ugly to look at, they represent a small percentage of all garbage on the ground today.

The industry has also taken aim at the product that has appeared as its replacement: reusable shopping bags. The stronger a reusable bag is, the longer its life and the more plastic-bag use it cancels out. However, longer-lasting reusable bags often require more energy to make. One study found that a cotton bag must be used at least 131 times to be better for the planet than plastic.

Environmentalists don’t dispute(质疑) these points. They hope paper bags will be banned someday too and want shoppers to use the same reusable bags for years.

1. What has Steven Stein been hired to do?

A．Help increase grocery sales.

B．Recycle the waste material.

C．Stop things falling off trucks.

D．Argue for the use of plastic bags.

2. What does the word “headwinds” in paragraph 2 refer to?

A．Bans on plastic bags.

B．Effects of city development.

C．Headaches caused by garbage.

D．Plastic bags hung in trees.

3. What is a disadvantage of reusable bags according to plastic-bag makers?

A．They are quite expensive.

B．Replacing them can be difficult.

C．They are less strong than plastic bags.

D．Producing them requires more energy.

4. What is the best title for the text?

A．Plastic, Paper or Neither

B．Industry, Pollution and Environment

C．Recycle or Throw Away

D．Garbage Collection and Waste Control

5 . Moving into a new home in a new neighborhood is an exciting experience. Of course, you want to make sure that you become an acceptable and valuable part of your neighborhood   . the easiest way to accomplish this is to make sure you conduct yourself as a good neighbor should.     1    

Perhaps one of the most important things you can do as a good neighbor is to keep your property(房产) neat, clean, and in good repair.     2     By choosing to keep the outside of the home in great shape, you will help to improve the look and feel of the area.

Second, take the overall appearance of the neighborhood seriously,. When going for a walk. Take a small garbage bag.     3     This small act will let your neighbors know that you care about the area.

    4     If a neighbor is going to be out of town, offer to collect mail and newspapers. If a neighbor suffers an illness, offer to do the grocery shopping . Let them know you are there to help in any way this acceptable, while still respecting the privacy of your neighbor.

    5     By following the basic rules of respecting others, taking care of what belongs to you, and taking pride in the appearance of the neighborhood in general, you will quickly become a good neighbor that everyone appreciate.

A．In general, keep an eye on their property while they are gone.

B．A good neighbor is also one who likes to help out in small ways.

C．Being a good neighbor is more or less about considerate behavior.

D．Sometimes neighbors may go to the supermarket together to do shopping.

E．Should you come across waste paper thrown out of a passing car, pick it up.

F．People tend to lake pride in keeping everything in their street fresh and inviting.

G．Here are a few tips to help you win over everyone in the neighborhood quickly

7 . Why Do We Get Angry?

Anger seems simple when we are feeling it, but the causes of anger are various. Knowing these causes can make us examine our behavior, and correct bad habits. The main reasons we get angry are triggering（触发）events, personality traits（特征）, and our assessment of situations.     1    

Triggering events for anger are so many that to describe them all would take hundreds of pages. However, here are some examples: being cut off in traffic, a deadline approaching, experiencing physical pain, and much more.     2     The reason why someone is triggered by something and others are not is often due to one’s personal history and psychological traits.

Each person, no matter who they are, has psychological imbalances. People who have personality traits that connect with competitiveness and low upset tolerance are much more likely to get angry.     3     Also, sometimes pre-anger does not have to do with a lasting condition, but rather a temporary state before a triggering event has occurred.

    4    Sometimes even routine occurrences become sources of pre-anger, or anger itself. Sometimes ignorance and negative (消极的) outlooks on situations can create anger.

    5    However, anger can easily turn violent, and it is best to know the reasons for anger to appear in order to prevent its presence. With these main reasons in mind, we can evaluate our level of anger throughout the day and prevent cases of outbursts by comprehending the reasons for our feelings.

A．Our attitude and viewpoint on situations can create anger within us as well.

B．But some types of situations can help us to get rid of the occurrence of anger.

C．Anger is rarely looked upon as a beneficial character trait, and is usually advised to reduce it.

D．Anger is a particularly strong feeling and maybe people think that they have reasons to feel angry.

E．Having these personality traits implies the pre-anger state, where anger is in the background of your mind.

F．Understanding these reasons will control our own anger if we are willing to evaluate ourselves with a critical eye.

G．Not everyone acts the same in response to events, and that is why what triggers one person may or may not trigger another.

8 . Some of the world’s most famous musicians recently gathered in Paris and New Orleans to celebrate the first annual International Jazz Day. UNESCO( United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) recently set April 30 as a day to raise awareness of jazz music, its significance, and its potential as a unifying(联合) voice across cultures.

Despite the celebrations, though, in the U.S. the jazz audience continues to shrink and grow older, and the music has failed to connect with younger generations.

It’s Jason Moran’s job to help change that. As the Kennedy Center’s artistic adviser for jazz, Moran hopes to widen the audience for jazz, make the music more accessible, and preserve its history and culture.

“Jazz seems like it’s not really a part of the American appetite,” Moran tells National Public Radio’s reporter Neal Conan. “What I’m hoping to accomplish is that my generation and younger start to reconsider and understand that jazz is not black and write anymore. It’s actually color, and it’s actually digital.”

Moran says one of the problems with jazz today is that the entertainment aspect of the music has been lost. “The music can’t be presented today the way it was in 1908 or 1958. It has to continue to move, because the way the world works is not the same,” says Moran.

Last year, Moran worked on a project that arranged Fats Waller’s music for a dance party, “Just to kind of put it back in the mind that Waller is dance music as much as it is concert music,” says Moran. “For me, it’s the recontextualization. In music, where does the emotion(情感) lie? Are we, as humans, gaining any insight(感悟) on how to talk about ourselves and how something as abstract as a Charlie Parker record gets us into a dialogue about our emotions and our thoughts? Sometimes we lose sight that the music has a wider context,” says Moran, “so I want to continue those dialogues. Those are the things I want to foster.”

1. Why did UNESCO set April 30 as International Jazz Day?

A．To remember the birth of jazz.

B．To protect cultural diversity.

C．To encourage people to study music.

D．To recognize the value of jazz.

2. What does the underlined word “that” in paragraph 3 refer to?

A．Jazz becoming more accessible.

B．The production of jazz growing faster.

C．Jazz being less popular with the young.

D．The jazz audience becoming larger.

3. What can we infer about Moran’s opinion on jazz?

A．It will disappear gradually.

B．It remains black and white.

C．It should keep up with the times.

D．It changes every 50 years.

4. Which of the following can be the best title for the text?

A．Exploring the Future of Jazz.

B．The Rise and Fall of Jazz.

C．The Story of a Jazz Musician.

D．Celebrating the Jazz Day.

9 . In the coming months, we are bringing together artists from all over the globe, to enjoy speaking Shakespeare’s plays in their language, in our Globe, within the architecture Shakespeare wrote for. Please come and join us.

National Theatre Of China   Beijing｜Chinese

This great occasion(盛会) will be the National Theatre of China’s first visit to the UK. The company’s productions show the new face of 21st century Chinese theatre. This production of Shakespeare’s Richard III will be directed by the National’s Associate Director, Wang Xiaoying.

Date & Time: Saturday 28 April, 2.30 pm & Sunday 29 April, 1.30 pm & 6.30 pm

Marjanishvili Theatre   Tbilisi｜Georgian

One of the most famous theatres in Georgia, the Marjanishvili, founded in 1928, appears regularly at theatre festivals all over the world. This new production of As You Like It is helmed(指导) by the company’s Artistic Director Levan Tsuladze.

Date & Time: Friday 18 May, 2.30 pm & Saturday 19 May, 7.30 pm

Deafinitely Theatre   London｜British Sign Language(BSL)

By translating the rich and humourous text of Love’s Labour’s Lost into the physical language of BSL, Deafinitely Theatre creates a new interpretation of Shakespeare’s comedy and aims to build a bridge between deaf and hearing worlds by performing to both groups as one audience.

Date & Time: Tuesday 22 May, 2.30 pm & Wednesday 23 May, 7.30 pm

Habima National Theatre   Tel Aviv｜Hebrew

The Habima is the centre of Hebrew-language theatre worldwide. Founded in Moscow after the 1905 revolution, the company eventually settled in Tel Aviv in the late 1920s. Since 1958, they have been recognized as the national theatre of Israel. This production of Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice marks their first visit to the UK.

Date & Time: Monday 28 May, 7.30 & Tuesday 29 May, 7.30 pm

1. Which play will be performed by the National Theatre of China?

A．RichardⅢ.	B．Lover’s Labour’s Lost.
C．As You Like It.	D．The Merchant of Venice.

2. What is special about Deafinitely Theatre?

A．It has two groups of actors.	B．It is the leading theatre in London.
C．It performs plays in BSL.	D．It is good at producing comedies.

3. When can you see a play in Hebrew?

A．On Saturday 28 April.	B．On Sunday 29 April.
C．On Tuesday 22 May.	D．On Tuesday 29 May.

10 . 【2018·北京】During the Mid-Autumn Festival, family members often gather together _________ a meal, admire the moon and enjoy moon cakes.

A．share	B．to share
C．having shared	D．shared